Monday, December 7, 2009

Do you remember something about your mom telling you to eat the food slowly and do that sitting down? Mine told me that all the time. But sometimes I wasn’t listening to her and I stood up while eating my meal in a hurry.

Now, after some years have passed, I must admit my mother was right. She gave me one of the best weight loss advices in the world. Having good eating habits is a very important part of a healthy diet. It can be surprising but the rate at which you ingest the food has a lot to deal with gaining weight.

Recent studies have shown that overweight people eat much faster than the skinny ones. Also, overweight people take bigger bites than regular people do. There are many types of food that force you to ingest them slowly. By adding these types of food into your diet you will quickly develop the good habit of slowly eating the food and enjoying every bite.

These types of food are:

Foods that have really high fiber concentrations. By ingesting just a small quantity, these types of food make you feel full much faster and for a longer period of time.

Types of foods that have a high content of water. This way, you will feel much fuller. For example, try eating cucumbers or fruits. You can try out melons, apples, pears, berries and many other types of food. You can also cook some of the vegetables. Boiled vegetables absorb water and they will fill your stomach better. Eating slow and food that has a lot of water is the key.

Another recommendation is to eat food that requires a lot of chewing. Because you will be busy chewing, you will be forced to eat slowly. So try out some hard to chew foods and see what happens. You can taste some fibrous vegetables like broccoli, carrots or cabbage.

You can also try out food that requires a big of energy to consume. This way you will get tired eating them and you will not get to overeat. Try high fibers vegetables that have proteins. Also, do not forget about vegetables and fruits.

Also, when you are eating, you should avoid drinking liquids because they mess with your gastric flow and the gastric substances, lowering their intensity.

Based on all the studies I have read, and all the examples I have seen with my own eyes, I have also reached the conclusion that a good diet involves giving up on drinks that contain calories. From time to time you can have a protein shake but on regular occasions, if you can drink water or a light drink, choose that instead of sugary juices. This is what having a healthy diet is all about. You should also avoid coffee, sodas and fruit juices that contain sugar. You may not believe this but the liquid calories are one of the biggest sources of hidden calories.